Crude oil prices have steadied following two consecutive days of gains, as supply disruptions in Saudi Arabia and Libya, combined with a scramble among European buyers to secure cargoes, point to increasingly tight conditions in the global market. West Texas Intermediate crude is holding above $105 a barrel, after touching its highest level since May on Tuesday, while Brent settled near $109 a barrel.

The Saudi East-West pipeline, which bypasses the conflict-ridden Strait of Hormuz, has remained offline since it was attacked last week. Meanwhile, production at Libya's Hamada and al-Tahara fields has ground to a halt due to the closure of critical valves. It remains unclear when the Saudi pipeline will be brought back online, though U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright indicated the outage could be measured in days.

As a result of these disruptions, Saudi Aramco has delayed crude deliveries to some European customers, triggering a race to line up alternative supply sources. WTI crude for October delivery slipped 0.3% to $105.47 a barrel, while November Brent settled 2.9% higher at $108.75 a barrel.